News Biz Must Change To Protect Journalist Mental Health
‘Suck it up’ news culture fuelling burnout, anxiety, depression
Dave Seglins is a veteran journalist, new industry advocate and Fellow of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. Photo: supplied.
After 25 years as a frontline reporter - with the scars of PTSD injury from covering horrific stories about murder, sexual abuse and suffering - I have become acutely aware of the risks of our industry and how poorly it takes care of its people.
How many supervisors ask ‘how are you?’ when you’re being fired out of the cannon to the next difficult assignment? It’s a basic question you’d think should be standard.
This new blog is a call to action. It is time the news industry gets serious about protecting the mental health and wellbeing of its people. There are ways to improve and change.
Step One: Let’s talk about it.
We seldom speak openly about stress, exposure to trauma and the ever-worsening climate in our industry that take their toll on our health. Sure, we grumble or commiserate with trusted colleagues. But as an industry we’ve long adhered to a ‘suck it up’ credo without properly protecting well-being. (Here’s my story on CBC podcast Sickboy )
Let’s face it - sometimes the pressures of journalism can be just too much for any superhuman. And those pressures are mounting like never before: with growing harassment online or in the field, evergrowing workloads, accelerated pace and volume of information, and widespread job insecurity.
We have a greater duty to each other than ever. Our understanding of mental health and the impact of vicarious trauma have evolved considerably in the last decade. Yet newsroom practices haven’t kept pace.
What’s more, a newer generation of young journalists is demanding better. Or, they are quitting, fed up with job insecurity, anti-media harassment, vile on-line racism and misogyny and expectations that to ‘pay your dues’ one must spend years working nights and weekends. News executives tell me they are struggling to fill jobs and retain fresh ‘talent’ at a time the industry is desperate to diversify.
Newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson of the Marvel comic Spiderman epitomizes the stereotype of the hard driving, insensitive newsroom leader that belongs in the dustbin of the 20th century. Marvel Comics.
Ultimately, our industry is really good at chasing stories. But, it has trouble prioritizing its people.
We have all sorts of reasons …or, maybe, excuses: the story is the priority; we need to race to meet deadlines or beat the competition; we’ve long thought of ourselves as “outside the story” and so minimize our own experience and have normalized routine exposure to ugliness, alongside 12 hour days, odd hours, reliance on a diet of adrenaline, coffee, sometimes booze.
No one encourages us otherwise - because the news beast is always hungry!
What’s more, the good people promoted to run newsrooms (who in my experience are almost all caring and smart) themselves have often excelled within that workaholic news culture and seldom have any training to help them manage people - let alone support mental health.
Two years ago, I decided it was time for change. At CBC, I proposed creating new internal training for newsroom leaders and frontline staff to foster ”Well-being In Journalism.” I also pitched a new job as an experiment. To my delight CBC is fully supporting me as a “Journalist & Well-being Champion” to work within the newsroom to adopt new supports and best practices.
I also partnered with Carleton journalism prof Matthew Pearson and the Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma to conduct a first of its kind national study of 1200 media workers in Canada.
Taking Care: A Report On Mental Health, Well-being and Trauma among Canadian media workers was published in May 2022, and documents some stark realities among our colleagues:
High rates of burnout, anxiety and depression
Routine, repeated exposure to traumatic events
Almost zero trauma/mental health training at work or in j-schools
We love our jobs, but are desperate for improvement, feedback, work-life balance
There are solutions. No silver bullet. But lots of small steps.
In the coming months, this blog will explore practical solutions for newsrooms and journalists to make our work healthier, more sustainable. I’m hoping to hear from colleagues around the globe to learn about - and share - new ways to support #WellbeingInNews.
It’s time for change. We can do better. Let’s start by talking about it.
